Ivan Rakitic: Everyone loves Lionel Messi, not just Barcelona fans

Messi, 28, is one away from his 500th goal for club and country and has amassed a record five Ballon d’Ors in a career which has elevated him to the ranks of the all-time greats in football.

Rakitic clearly feels in thrall to his team-mate, who could score his milestone goal in Tuesday night’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Atletico Madrid.

"If I had to list everything I’d seen him do, we’d be here a very long time," Rakitic told Goal.

"We want to get as much as we can from him and help him do as well as possible. We always try to put him in the best positions because success is easier if he only has to face one defender as opposed to three or four every time.

"We fight for him and cover his back so he can enjoy his game. I don’t always look for him first though - it depends on the situation. It is important to know what your team-mates can do but if I can find a good position to shoot, I will try it.

"But we have great forward players whom we want to use. We have good transitions and great one-on-one ability up front, which we have to exploit."